Church Bells
by aetah
Summary: Draco Malfoy struggles to live his life through the twists and turns, while trying to get through his guilt. *AU no HBP and alive!Sirius because I need him Slash warning! Will eventually be HPDM
1. Chapter 1

Hello all! If you are wondering where my other story went... well let's just say I lost interest. Anyways, I have this plot bunny that's been hopping around my head (and giving me a migrain) for a while now. So, this is **Officially** my first story that a am absolutely determined to finish. So ha!

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest.

So that's all, please enjoy my first chapter!

* * *

_Church bells..._

_They ring loud... Why? Where am I?_

_It's dark... Why is it so dark?_

_Oh... My eyes are closed._

_Should I open them? _

_Someone's pulling me by the hand. Slow down! You're too fast; I'll fall._

_Dark... I really should open my eyes._

_Running, running, run, run, run. Faster. Quick! We have to get there!_

_Where?_

_Don't open your eyes! Whatever you do, don't open your eyes..._

_The hand... it's gone? Where did it go? Gone... Why? Don't leave me alone!_

_Keep your eyes closed... It will all be over soon. _

_Ignore the tears-the screams-. Oh Mordred, they're echoing off the walls._

_Ding, dong, ding, dong, the church bells ring._

_Open your eyes._

*

Draco woke with a start. His heart hammering furiously in his chest, sweat beads making their way down his temples, wide grey eyes flickering from right to left in fear, and his hands were clenched almost painfully onto his green bed sheets.

He brought a trembling, pale hand up to his mouth, and let out a low cry of despair. It was a horrible sound, and if anybody had heard it, they would have surely cringed in sympathy.

The pale blond clutched his head on either side of his face, and squeezed his eyes shut. He wished the stinging memory of the nightmare away.

A low whisper in the Slytherin's ear said, "_Open your eyes..."_

Or maybe it was just his imagination.

*

Severus Snape was hardly a nice man. Actually, that's and understatement.

He was a vile, loathsome man who took a sick a sick pleasure in the pain and suffering of the children of former rivals and childhood bullies. Especially ones with messy black hair, dark green eyes, and horrendous glasses. He loved to demoralize his students, he instigated House rivalries, was unfair, biased, frightened the younger students, Hufflepuffs, and Longbottom, and, on top of all that, gave heaping piles of homework.

He was a bitter, cranky, and downright unpleasant man. It was the basic truth. The students understood it, as did the staff, and even Snape himself was very aware of this reputation.

But all that did not mean he was without compassion. The things he loved in his, basically, miserable life, although there were few, he loved with all his being. He was loyal and ever diligent in his care for these few things. The unpleasant man could make a list of the few circumstances in which he ever showed true warm emotions. They were scarce.

1- Potions

2- Albus Dumbledoor

3- Lily Evans

4- His Godson: Draco Malfoy

This list, the reader will note, was not written in order of which he loved most to least. No, the reader must understand that the fourth was to be his downfall.

Severus had been named Draco's Godfather by both Lucius and Narcissa. He was respected by both. They had grown up together, and had been a close knit group, as are all Slytherins.

It had been the predictable choice at the time. Bellatrix had been sent to Azkaban, Regulus was dead, Andromeda was gone, and Sirius was a traitor. The Crabbes and Goyles were dimwits, the Zabini woman was an untrustworthy black widow, and the Parkinsons were out of the question entirely.

Severus was trusted; Severus was loyal: Severus would not break a vow.

He could never break the vow he made to take care of the boy.

He also could not help himself from becoming attached to the spoilt child, and he had always been good at observations. After weeks of diligent signs, he had come to a conclusion.

Draco's health was declining.

It was a slow process, really. It had started at the beginning of the summer vacation, and it had rapidly spiraled out of control, as these things usually do. The usually ferocious blond was become more and more subdued. His usually perfect composure was becoming less controlled; his hair was sometimes in a disarray, his buttons sometimes done wrong, dark circles were forming under heavy eyes, and the once slim boy was getting thinner and thinner.

Severus was losing patience. He needed to know what was wrong with his godson.

He was determined to find out.

*

Draco ran a silver handled brush through his pale blond tresses. He repeated the familiar process with the utmost care. When the boy was done, he put the brush down, and looked at his reflection.

He was thin, he realized with a start, too thin. His hair, once bright and alive, was becoming more and more dull. Dark bags had formed under his bloodshot eyes.

"Honey, you look like what the cat dragged back and forth through the bush, before dragging you in," said his bathroom mirror, before giggling at her own joke. Draco decided, at that moment, that he truly hated Wizarding mirrors. Maybe the muggles had something right for once... Who cares what a mirror had to say anyways?

Draco, now in a bad mood, slammed his bathroom door closed as he made his way to the Dining Room for breakfast.

*

Severus heard Draco's footsteps, as he made his way towards the dining room. The potion's master quickly made his way in that direction as well.

He walked in to the large room and sat himself at his usual seat, to the left of the head of the table.

Draco staggered in, his eyes flashing dangerously with barely concealed frustration. He stopped short when he realized his godfather was in the room, and quickly scrambled to regain some sense of composure.

He acknowledged the dark haired man as he seated himself at the right of the head of the table. That put him directly in front of his mentor.

"Severus, I didn't realize you were visiting today," said the dreadfully exhausted blond. Snape's face remained impassive.

"Draco, you look like shite," Severus dead panned. The blond bristled at the comment.

"That was uncalled for..." Draco said, his voice quivering with emotion. Severus' eyes softened fractionally.

"What is disturbing you to the point of disrupting your life?" asked the usually uncaring man. Draco shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Draco," warned the man, "answer me."

The blond shifted his focus to a large stain glass window. The light filtering through the painted glass, making colors dance on Draco's face.

"I haven't been able to sleep without being haunted by nightmares," answered the uncomfortable boy, "they just keep getting worse and worse."

Draco's eyes shrouded over a bit. Severus stood, and made his way to his godson, wrapping his arms around the boy in an unusual display of affection.

Draco made a choking noise, gasping for breath as he cried for the first time since he was six. He clutched desperately to his godfather, searching for the comfort he desperately needed.

"Please help me. I can't take it anymore... please," Draco pleaded pathetically.

"Of course," was the simple reply.

* * *

So, what did you think? Loved it? Hated it? Hated my spelling and grammar errors? TELL ME!!!!!

Love always,

-aetah


	2. Chapter 2

Hello all! *waves hans stupidly* How is everybody? Good? Oh! I have to say, I am a vampire who feeds off reviews! To all who reviewed I love you completely and utterly! *Squeals* You are my first reviewers ever, so I'm so very happy! Your comments made me giggle, and I tried to finish this chapter as soon as I could! So tada!! It's actually kind of a boring chapter... sorry about that! Hehe... *goes to hide behind some bushes* Don't hate me! D: Anyways, I hope you like it!!

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest.

* * *

"_What will you have us do with the boy?"_

_Blank eyes stare back. Thin, chapped lips pull back in to a vicious sneer. Eyes twinkle with unbidden insanity._

_Shrill barks of laughter fill the air._

"_He's not gone! He'll come back and deliver us! They think he's dead, but he's not!" _

"_Bella... the boy, what would you have us do with the boy?"_

_More maniacal laughter filled the air._

"_He'll be back, then all the mudbloods will rue the day they were born! We'll make them suffer!" _

_Clawed fingers lunged for cold metal bars. Eyes gleamed like jewels. Madness._

"_Bella, please, what of the boy?" _

"_He'll be back! Just wait and see... then the traitors will be punished!"_

"_Bella..."_

_Unseeing eyes stared in the direction of the voice._

"_Just wait and see Cissy! They'll all be punished, then we, the Toujours Pures, will finally get our just rewords!"_

"_Bella..." softly spoken._

"_Just wait and see..."_

*

Draco stared unseeingly out the old casement of a window. He was not truly looking, but daydreaming, a thing that had become his hobby over the summer. The blond lost himself to his own musings.

His godfather was busy. Not just with the upcoming start of school, but with experiments, potions, Death Eater business, and Dumbledore business. He also was needed for the completion of Wolfsbane potion for the school's resident werewolf professor. The potion took many labourious nights to complete. The blond knew this, and worried that, with Severus' promise to make him the Dreamless Potion each night, he was causing his godfather much more grief than necessary. If he could only face his dreams, then he wouldn't be in need of the potion.

A horrible question still floated in his mind. A nagging curiosity, as if he _should_ remember. Like a long forgotten memory, on the tip of his tongue, but just out of reach. Why did the dream bother him to this extent?

Suddenly a movement in the distant trees caught his attention. Draco shook in abrupt fear.

The plains that surrounded the manor were nothing to fear; they were quite lovely: flowing green grass, hills of beautiful flowers, and filled with a tamed beauty that the Manor was famous for.

The fear Draco felt was from the dark forest looming where the plains stopped and the trees grew, and it was understandable. The forest was like a parasite, creeping its way onto the beautiful fields of grass. The trees grew in mutant forms. They twisted up from the earth and grabbed as if drowning at everything they could.

It was said that the forest was cursed when the manor was first built. That the trees grew on magic, that they were granted souls of magical beings, and that some could even draw themselves up from the earth and _move_.

The records in the vast Malfoy library state that the long deceased Brutus DuMontagne Malfoy once ordered the destruction of over half the dark forest. All records after that stated that the entire hired crew, plus the late Lord Malfoy himself, had all disappeared, never to be found again.

So, under these circumstances, Draco's fear of the forest was very understandable.

_But_, whispered the Slytherin's conscious, _that's not all there is to it, is there?_

Shivers ran up Draco's back.

He let out an angry growl, and, impulsively, he punched the wall. He cringed as pain shot through his arm.

"Damn it," Draco mumbled angrily, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "what the bloody hell is wrong with me?"

*

The days moved on. July came to an end, and August rose from it's ashes.

The dark forest grew darker. It stood still; it seemed to be waiting.

For what?

*

_Two boys, beautiful as the day itself, ran hand in hand over hills of green._

_Dark, black hair shifting in the breeze. Rueful smiles._

_Giggles filled the August air._

_Grey orbs met grey orbs. Pinky swears are to be kept._

_Let's play the day away._

_Lovely day._

*

Draco woke from the dream. Unlike his recent stream of horrid nightmares, this dream was pleasant. Excluding the fact he felt he should remember something.

The boy in his dreams... he was so familiar.

Draco rose slowly from his bed, and made his way to the large window that looked out onto the Malfoy grounds. He stared in to the distance, examining the forest again.

Who was the dark haired boy?

*

Draco walked through the hallow halls of the empty manor. His parents had been away for quite some time now. Draco was beginning to become worried. His father had escaped recently from Azkaban (undoubtably with the aid of his Dark Lord) but he had neither seen hair nor hide of the Lord Malfoy.

His mother had left for France. She said she needed to get away from the noise of the United Kingdom.

_What noise?_ Draco thought, _It's unbearably quiet._

He needed his mother. He needed to know who the boy in his dreams was.

"Where are you?" was his silent plea.

*

Draco slowly wrote a letter to several important persons.

They were the following:

**Dear Severus,**

**I beg your presence to the Manor as soon as possible.**

**It is urgent. Please do come Sev; I need you.**

**Sincerely yours,**

**Draco L. Malfoy**

The second letter was addressed in a less formal tone:

**Zabini,**

**I am completely and utterly bored, and, although I sound despairingly desperate, please come over right away. Just tell your mother that you're going to try to manipulate me for some money; she'll like that. The cow...**

**Hurry up.**

**Draco L. Malfoy**

The third was in the same tone:

**Pans,**

**I am in desperate need of your ever desirable presence.**

**Do come and visit soon.**

**Love,**

**Draco L. Malfoy**

Draco sent the three letters off.

He would need all the help he could get.

* * *

Loved it? Hated it? Want to offer some constructive criticism? PUSH DA BUTTON BELOW!!

Love, as always,

-aetah


	3. Chapter 3

Hello all! Aha! I uploaded! I actually made a third chapter! I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest

* * *

Blaise Zabini made his way through the dark, echoing hallways of Malfoy Manor. He was the first to respond to Draco's somewhat desperate invitations.

Blaise was tall, and he tended to tower over others. He had been slightly gawky when he was younger, and, because of which, he had been ostracized by his fellow Slytherins. However, he eventually grew in to his size, and became a devastatingly gorgeous man. He was all dark, ebony locks, straight, aristocratic features, dark, shining eyes, and golden-brown skin.

He had been vindicated. He became vain quickly, and had taken immense pleasure in rubbing his dashing good looks in the faces of all those who had demeaned him in his youth.

All, excluding Draco Malfoy.

Draco, who was quick and bright. Draco, who had never judged on looks, but on power and influence. Draco, who had accepted him into his court when they were oh so young. Draco, with his cold sneers, flashing eyes, incessant chatting, and cruel taunts. Blaise smiled at his thoughts. He wondered, idly, if he was masochistic or just bloody insane.

The hallway paintings whispered amongst themselves, clearly wondering why such a lovely young man was laughing for no apparent reason.

*

"Blaise, do you remember this room?" asked a distracted Draco Malfoy, idly stirring his strong chamomile tea. He was glancing around the small sitting room with a confused frown marring his face. Blaise fought the urge to reach over and smooth over the frown with his thumb.

"Hmm, maybe, but there are so many rooms in the Manor, it's hard to remember all of them," Blaise answered. Draco continued to stare around the room.

"No, there's something about this room..." he trailed off.

Blaise spared a glance around the room. It wasn't that different from all the other sitting rooms in Malfoy Manor. Maybe it was just a bit darker than usual, since the gothic windows were covered by dark red curtains. The fireplace was off to the side. The room was covered with paintings that sat silently; silent faces and silent voices everywhere. The floors were polished hardwood, and the chairs like all the others in the Manor. Nothing seemed all that different.

"I don't think so. It all looks the same to me," Blaise said in a murmur that Draco barely heard.

"I guess you're right," said Draco slowly, as if he barely believed the words that came from his mouth. Blaise smirked.

"You brought me all the way over here to talk about this sitting room?" the dark haired boy asked, faking hurt, "I feel slightly used." Draco snorted inelegantly.

"No, you utter prat, I brought you here so we could talk. I need to talk to somebody; I can't stand the silence anymore," the blond admitted.

Blaise looked over the top of his own tea suspiciously. What was Draco playing at, admitting a weakness so openly? Try as he might, the tall Slytherin couldn't understand. It was time to widen the playing field.

Blaise placed his teacup on the small plate, and reached over the small coffee table to grab Draco's arm. His long, dark fingers curling gently around the other boy's small wrist. Draco seemed startled at the movement, before reining his control over his emotions.

"Draco," Blaise started in a deep voice, "what's on your mind?"

Draco looked towards the painting hanging above the crackling fireplace.

"Do you remember when we used to play here? As boys?" The blond asked suddenly.

"Of course I do," answered the other boy.

"Did we ever," Draco continued, slightly shakily, "did we ever go in to the forest?"

Blaise was taken aback by the question. He slowly retracted his arm back to his side of the table, and grabbed his tea. In both it's meaning and the way Draco had voiced it, the question had seemed somewhat off, unlike himself.

"No," Blaise said determinedly, "no, we never did, because your mother and father restricted it. We weren't allowed to go in to the forest. Why did you even ask?"

Draco didn't answer, and, instead of looking relieved at Blaise's words, he seemed to be even more pale and shaken. Blaise felt another urge to wrap his arms around the smaller boy. He quickly squashed the urge. He was no Hufflepouf, and he could control himself.

Draco looked over at the damned painting again. What was so important about the bloody thing anyways? Blaise thought hysterically. It was hardly anything to look at. Just another Malfoy ancestor. Twins, by the look of it. Twin blond girls with pasty, unhappy faces and pale features. Just like every other bloody painting.

"That painting..." Draco said, again breaking the tension in the room, "it's new. I don't remember it being there before."

Blaise felt like smashing the teapot he was currently pouring.

*

Draco sighed after Blaise had left. What was going on? He wasn't stupid. He had known what Blaise had been expecting when he had arrived at the Manor. He had expected bed sheets, and wine. _Like always_, taunted his subconscious, _always empty feelings and dirty stains_. He hated it, absolutely hated it. Yet he always came crawling back for more.

But not this time. This time he had a reason for Blaise to be here. He had been trying to figure out who the dark haired boy in his dream had been. It was a silly notion, but he felt as if he had known the boy from somewhere, locked deep within his memories.

He stoped his musings for a second, and realised with a sudden shock that he had walked his way back to the dark sitting room he had chosen to entertain Blaise in. He cautiously made his way to the painting of the two young, sour looking Malfoy twins.

They stared down at him with unpleasant looks of contempt. He read their names on the small golden plate at the edge of the elegantly carved frame: _Alcestis and Alcmene Malfoy_. Draco frowned at the names. They didn't belong in this room; he knew that for sure.

Alcestis and Alcmene opened a pair of black fans and covered their mouths as they seemed to whisper and giggled furiously behind them. Draco grimaced in frustration. If they didn't belong here...

Then who did?

*

_Jumping over tangled roots and ducking grabbing branches, they raced through the forest._

_Don't trip, just keep running. Almost there, almost there._

_Ding dong, ding dong. Church Bells? _

_No, nonononononooooo. We shouldn't be here._

_Don't you hear? They're ringing again, We should go back now._

_Don't worry. I'm here for you... you don't have to be afraid._

_A warm, clammy hand clasps another. A tug. _

_Let's go in._

_Ding, dong, ding, ding, dong. _

_An echoing scream. Red everywhere._

_Ohmerlinmorganasalazarpleasenononoo... blood. __**Blood everywhere.**_

*

Draco woke again in a rush. An inevitable vertigo seized him, and he fell back against his warm bed sheets. He lay there, taking deep ragged breaths, for several minutes. When he finally mustered up enough strength to get up, he crawled out of bed, and grabbed a dark green, silk robe that hung from the chair, where he'd left it the night before. A quick Lumos, and a check of the clock that hung on his wall, told him it was 2:13 in the morning. Feeling restless, Draco slipped on the first pair of slippers he saw, and went to wander down the seemingly endless halls of the empty Manor.

He swept through the hallways with practised ease. Past the hiding places of his childhood. The small alcoves, the hanging tapestries, and the looping corridors were all stark, vivid memories, easy to remember. Yet, there was still a sense of something _missing_.

His swift movements through the Manor inevitably brought him to the dark sitting room from the day before. He stoped in front of the dark wooden doors. Draco brought two shaking hands up and pushed the door open. _This was it..._

He walked in. The room automatically lit up, and the fireplace roared instantly. Draco wandered over to the painting. The twin blonds in the painting seemed to be sleeping, curled in towards each other.

The Slytherin slowly, so as not to wake the slumbering Malfoys, grabbed the painting on either side of the frame, and slowly removed it from the wall.

The frame descended slowly, and Draco waited with baited breath.

* * *

Did you like it? Did you hate it? I MUST KNOW!!! Haha, okay, now I'm going to seep... -_-

Love, always,

-aetah


	4. Chapter 4

Look! A chapter! Are you people happy? Cause I am! Yay! Anyways, again, I must say I am sorry for an gramar errors. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest

* * *

Beneath the old painting was a crawlspace.

It was old, and it obviously hadn't been used in many years. Cobwebs had gathered in the corners, dust covered it entirely, and when the painting was removed, a gust of air carrying a putrid smell wafted through the sitting room. Inside the crawlspace was a dark tunnel.

Draco stared at the dusted hole with a look that somewhat resembled horror. He was absolutely shocked. Although, he knew he shouldn't be. Honestly, Malfoy Manor had as many secrets as Hogwarts itself. The painting he had been holding up fell gracelessly from his white fingers.

Draco ran trembling fingers over the floor of the crawlspace. Dust collected on his fingers. Where did it lead to? He gathered all his courage and curiosity, fighting back his fear of what might be ahead.

He pushed himself up, onto the opening of the grimy crawlspace, and began his crawl towards the end of the completely dark tunnel. He sucked in the dust, and coughed as it entered his lungs.

The crawl was relatively short, and soon he found himself falling face first into an unlit room. Pain shot up through his arms as they braced themselves to catch him. He groaned as he lay pathetically on the floor, before picking himself up. He was thankful no one had seen him.

He searched for his wand. Once the blond had found it, he intoned a gentle _Lumos_ and gasped as he saw the room.

It was not too unlike his own bedroom had been when he was younger. It was smaller and a bit more cramped. The furniture looked used and worn. He noticed how unkept the room was, as if noone had been through there in years. He moved towards a worn candlestick that sat on a small desk.

"Incendio," Draco whispered, levelling his wand at the wick. The candle lit up, and the room was engulfed in bright light. Once he was done, Draco pocketed his wand, and started to examine the room.

Draco had found a bedroom. A _child's_ bedroom.

The bed was small, meant for a child's body. It was covered in a quilt that had was covered in dust. He moved past the bed, towards a bedside table. On it lay a framed picture.

Draco picked it up, and dusted it off. He almost dropped the frame when he saw the picture.

There, in black and white, was himself, when he had been three, his mother, father, and another small boy. They were all smiling lightly.

The other boy looked no older than younger-Draco. He had a shock of jet-black hair that fell neatly around his smiling face. His grey eyes twinkling madly. He had pale skin, almost as pale as Draco, and wore clothes that a prince could have sported.

It was the boy from Draco's dreams.

Draco brought a finger up, and rubbed the excess grime from the picture.

"Who...?" Draco started.

Who the bloody hell was the boy?

*

Severus made his way through Malfoy Manor as if the devil himself was at his heels. He had received his godson's letter three days after it had been sent. He had been busy putting the finishing touches on Lupin's Wolfsbane potion. He had read the letter, and in the next second he was on his way to the Manor.

Draco was in pain. Draco needed him.

He hurried his pace, searching harder.

Twenty minutes passed, and he hadn't any luck whatsoever. Finally, too frustrated to continue, he barked out, "Bippy!"

The house elf appeared with a sudden pop. She trembled as she took in who had called her.

"Yes, masters Sevrus! What can I's do for yous?" asked the agitated elf. Severus glared at the raggedly dressed house elf.

"Where is Master Draco?" he asked impatiently. Bippy's eyes widened, before closing and concentrating her magic on locating her master. She gave a slight squeak, and turned to Severus.

"Little Master Malfoy is in the Closed Room, yes he is! I's knows not why! He should be in his beds, yes he should! Bippy is a bad house elf, not taking cares of young Master!" cried the distraught elf, pulling her ear into her mouth and biting. Severus had gone pale at the mention of the Closed Room.

"Enough!" intoned the irate potions master, "Go, attend to your duties! I shall take care of your young master."

The elf sniffled, and disappeared with another loud pop.

Severus knew where he'd find Draco, but he needed to get something before he went to see the boy.

*

Draco was siting on the bed, looking at the black and white picture of himself and his family when he had another memory hit him.

It was sudden, and it shocked him. He dropped the picture onto the floor, and the frame shattered. At one moment he was in the dusty bedroom, and in the next, he was under the covers of the very quilt he had been siting on. Only, this quilt was clean, and he was not alone.

"_Draco," the dark haired boy whispered, "we'll always be together, right?"_

_His younger self stared in seriously into grey eyes, almost exactly like his own. _

"_Of course," he whispered back, "you're going to be with me forever 'cause I say so, and I'm a Malfoy, and so I'm right!" Giggles erupted from both boys._

"_Okay then, pinky swear it," said the other boy, "Pinky swear we'll always be together, no matter what." A small pinky extended towards younger-Draco._

_Draco's pinky clasped the other boy's as they sent small smiles to each other. _

The moment ended, and Draco was sitting on the dusty quilt, alone.

He brushed the quilt off a bit, then he bent and gathered the picture up in his hand. A couple glass shards scratched his fingers, but he ignored them.

It was at that moment that Severus Snape walked into the grimy bedroom. Draco did nothing to acknowledge his presence. He continued to examine the old picture, before asking, in a small voice, "Who is he?"

Severus walked to where his godson was sitting, and took a seat on the bed beside him. Draco looked towards the potion's master, his gaze intense and serious. Snape sighed, and took the picture from Draco's yielding fingers. He murmured a small healing spell for the cuts on Draco's fingers.

He replace the picture with a book with _Wizarding Wards an Extensive Research_ emblazoned on the title.

"Read this," Severus said in a quiet voice, "Read the pages I have highlighted, then all will become more clear to you."

Draco's fingers caressed the golden title of the book. "Alright," he said, "then you will explain to me what is going on, right?"

Severus just looked away from the confused boy, not saying another word.

* * *

So, did you like it? Yes, no? Maybe so? Go on! Hit the review button!

love,

-aetah


	5. Chapter 5

Oh look! Chapter 5! This time, its long! I'm pretty proud of myself! Oh, and guys, I love the reviews! They make me giggle and want to write more! So this time, I've given some pretty huge hints! Even a NAME! *LeGasp* No way! Lol, anyways, I hope you all enjoy the latest instalment!

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest.

* * *

"Draco, darling, you know I adore you, but," Pansy Parkinson said to her blond counterpart, "studying? Must we? And during the _summer_, no less, is it really necessary?"

Draco rubbed tiredly at his temples, fighting his oncoming headache.

"Pans, for the millionth time, yes, it is** crucial!" **he exclaimed, glaring at the witch in front of him.

"Alright," Pansy said hesitantly, "I see that this is obviously very important to you, but it might be easier, if you tell me what **exactly** I'm supposed to be looking out for."

"I can't tell if I don't even know, okay Pans?" he answered her. Pansy nodded her head, damning Snape for not being more obvious with his hints. Honestly, the book was practically entirely highlighted.

The duo was lying on Draco's large, canopy bed, on their stomachs. They were flipping through the pages of the large book that Severus had left Draco.

Pansy had taken in Draco's sleep-deprived looks with concern as soon as she had arrived. The blond was never one to let himself go. Yes, he still looked absolutely gorgeous, but the dark circles under his eyes were becoming glaringly obvious, and, as she glanced up from the old, mouldy pages, to take a look at her friend, she couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him. She studied the wizard as he flipped through the pages, eyes skimming the texts. His forehead was creased in concentration, and he looked so vulnerable at that moment that Pansy just couldn't take it anymore.

"Dee, hunny, you look absolutely dreadful," the girl started, steadfastly ignoring the death glare being sent her way, "Go get some sleep, and I'll see what I can find in the book, mmkay?"

Draco sent her a suspicious look. "Why would you do that?"

Pansy sent the blond a look, and he quelled his suspicion. Under her powerful gaze, he slowly became sheepish, and his face softened.

"Alright," the blond said finally, "but only for a bit. And, if you see anything interesting, just wake me up."

With that, the fair-haired boy crawled under his comforter, and fell in to a quick sleep.

*

"_Draco! C'mon! Hurry up!" The boy pulling at his arm yanked him through the dense forest._

"_I... I don't think that we should be doing this! Mummy said we weren't to pass the forest's edge!" younger-Draco exclaimed, frightfully rushing through the trees._

_All of a sudden the forest was behind the two young boys, and they were in a field. Long, wild wheat was billowing in the winds. Up ahead was an old-fashioned, gothic church._

_Ding-dong, ding-dong._

_*_

Pansy sighed tiredly. She let her head fall heavily on the mattress. She banged her head on the bed several times. The movements shook the bed, and the book, which had been teetering over the edge of Draco's impossibly large bed, lost its balance, and fell onto the floor.

The book landed with a loud thud, and Pansy sighed, and rolled off the bed to pursue it.

Now, Pansy Parkinson had never been one to be overly superstitious. This was probably due to the fact that if she was superstitious, she would probably believe in karma. And, considering all the lies and manipulations she had done in her reasonably short life, her karma would be anything but good.

But when she noticed that the book a fallen open at a page she had not see before, and which was entirely highlighted.

She held her breath, and sent a silent prayer to every deity she knew of.

She slowly brought the book up to read.

*

_The church was quite big. It had pointed windows, and dark walls. The windows were stain glass, and a large, round window filtered purple light from the disappearing sun. Crows were nestled on the roof and in every tiny crack in the walls. Their sharp cries pierced the otherwise deadly silent field. The old, cracked bells were chiming softly across the field, as if they were sending a warning to all those surrounding. _

_Leave, they said, leave this place. Leave now._

_Draco wanted to be anywhere but there. _

"_It's fantastic!" The dark haired boy cried happily, "Let's go in!"_

"_No, we should go back... c'mon Reg, let's go back, please!" Desperation was sinking in. They couldn't go further! Something bad would happen._

"_Don't worry Draco! I'll be here, so you don't have to worry!"_

_But, what about you?_

_*_

**Chapter 43: Ancestral Wards**

Not much has been verified when it comes to the ancient familial Wards of the older pureblood families because of the differences in their casting, or the inconsistency of the magicks at work. All we have to go on, this author notes, is the ancient texts of the forefathers of these great esteemed families. It is very hard to come to any certain conclusion at this time with such nonexistent proof. But, as it is with all spells of certain natures, there are many consistencies that can be noted. To read more, turn to pages 560 through 580.

Pansy smirked. Maybe she would start believing in miracles.

She quickly turned to page 560.

*

_The old, wooden doors were huge and heavy. The made a huge creaking noise as they opened on rusty hinges. _

_Soon enough though, Draco's arm was being tugged through a dark hallway. _

_The floor was made of cobblestones, but the church was obviously uncared for, and both boys were tripping over the broken holes in the floor. _

_The purple light that was filtering through the windows was slowly disappearing, and through it all the bells rang their musical warnings louder and louder._

"_Hurry up Draco..."_

"_Draco, hurry up!"_

"_Draco! DRACO!"_

_*_

Draco woke to Pansy's face glaring impatiently above him.

"Draco, for Morgan's sake, get up you lazy arse! I have something to show you; it's important!"

With that she sent him one more impatient look, and walked out of the room. Draco scurried after her quickly.

*

Draco followed Pansy out into the West Library, which was closest to Draco's room. Severus's book was lying open on a polished table. The blond took a seat across from Pansy, who was already sitting, waiting for Draco's attention.

"What did you find, Pans?" the blond asked eagerly.

"Something you might find interesting..." Pansy pushed the book under Draco's nose, and motioned with a finger for him to read one of the entries.

After several minutes of reading, Draco lifted his gaze from the book to Pansy, grey eyes shining in confusion.

"I don't understand,"

Pansy sighed. "Don't you get it? It says, that in the prolonged absence of the 'Ruling Lord of the Manor'" she said, using two fingers to make quotation marks on either side of her head, "all Wards and Magicks bound to the family are transferred to the Heir apparent. That would be you." She gazed pointedly at Draco.

"While that explains why and how I could open the passageway to that closed up room without a proper password, it still doesn't explain the dreams, or visions, or whatever the bloody hell they are," the fair wizard exclaimed in frustrated voice.

"Maybe it does, though," Pansy said mysteriously, "I found something else out about Wards."

"What? Come on now, Pansy, I'm desperate. Just spill," the grey eyed boy said in a defeated voice.

"These "visions", as you call them, could actually be Warded Memories."

"Warded Memories?" Draco asked, intrigued by the sudden theory.

"Yes!" Pansy exclaimed excitedly, "The author writes in great detail about the binding of memories through runes and symbols. He says that the binder has to use a great deal of power to make the wards permanent or else they could fall apart. So you see, if, hypothetically speaking, of course, _your father_ was the one to bind these "Warded Memories" then he could have used the power of the Manor's Ancestral Wards as a sort of "backup" and locked them away. But seeing as he's been absent, as the book says, for _a prolonged absence_, the Wards are beginning to be transferred to you, and his bindings are loosening. Once the power from the Ancestral Wards is gone, then the "Warded Memories" become temporary, and begin to chip away, till finally, they disappear, and you remember everything they don't want you to."

Draco was, for once in his life, speechless. Pansy waited patiently for him to take it all in.

"So you're saying," Draco said slowly, once the shock had worn off, "that my _family_ has been inside my _brain_ to make me forget something. That they _magically warded my own memories?_"

Draco began to laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Pansy just waited till the hysteria passed.

Once Draco let out a final hoarse laugh, the room became almost unbearably silent.

"What," Draco said softly, whispering his words, "what could be so bad, that they thought I needed to forget, _forever?"_

For that question, Pansy had no answer.

* * *

SOOOOOO.....

What did you guys think? I know you have something to say, so please review. Please? Pretty please, with a sparkly Draco on top of a cake?

Love, Aetah.


	6. Chapter 6

Hey people! Im back with a new chapter! This one is pretty short, but my next part will be a little long and I plan on uptading it tomorrow, (which is actually today), later at least! Anyways, I love all you amazing reviewers! You give me the encouragement to keep writing. I hope you all enjoy this Chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest

* * *

Draco made his way hurriedly passed countless rows of tombstones. They were large, and boulder-like creations that stood imposing, like giant statues, and blocking out the sun.

The Malfoy burial grounds were ancient, dating back further than history itself. Many of the tombstones were inscribed in languages that had long been forgotten. They were a far, horseback ride away from the Main House, and they crept around the large, green mountains that stood in the Eastern border of the Malfoy property. There was no order to the placement of the tombs, seeing as it held a gigantic amount of tombstones. Finding one, particular grave, would be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Too bad Draco was in search of just one.

After riding out, at the crack of dawn, to search for a particular tombstone with a particular date, Draco had methodically made his way through seemingly unending graves. He was combing through them with relentless determination. The sun was slowly setting now and it had begun to rain.

The blond had, after the coming to his realisation the day before, sent Pansy home, and then spent a restless night in bed. He had not had any more memories because he had not gotten any sleep. Yet still, with red-rimmed eyes, and dark blue circles around them, continued his search.

Mordred be damned, was he exhausted.

After spending the night thinking about reasons why his own family had sought to rid him of his memories, he had a sudden chilling thought. That thought had gnawed at him, sending waves of icy panic through the blond all night. That thought was the one that had sent him in search of a tombstone that wore a date of birth similar to his own.

Suddenly, he slipped ungracefully, and very embarrassingly, in a small puddle, and fell flat on his face.

Fate works in mysterious ways, doesn't it?

**Regulus Orion Demetrius Black-Lestrange; 1980-1986**

Draco stared at the tombstone for a moment. He slowly kneeled down in front of the grave, and, even though the mud soaked through his knees and his robe, and the small stones that were scattered haphazardly every where stabbed at him, he stayed on the ground.

Draco brought his hand up, and gently traced the name with his fingers.

_Found you._

*

Severus Snape found Draco in that position when he arrived at the cemetery. He had come to check up on how the boy was doing when he had heard no news. The potion's master had found out from one of the elves that Draco had made his way, early in the morning, towards the ancient burial grounds, and had still yet to return.

Draco wore a blank look on his face, and neither acknowledged Severus' presence nor moved from the position he was in.

"Draco, what are you-

"Who was he?" draco asked, in a deceptively calm voice. Severus flinched.

"Draco, first we should get you inside, away from-

"Who was **he?**" this time Draco's voice was louder, more desperate. Severus took a hesitant step towards his godson.

"Draco, first let's get you someplace dry where we can-

"**Who the bloody hell was he?"** Draco's voice was a desperate yell. He rose from the ground in furious speed.

"Who the bloody hell was he? Why am I not allowed to remember him? Why are my memories **Warded** against him?" Draco screamed at his godfather, "What did you **do to him?"**

Draco was screaming now, his voice resounding through the rain. His grey eyes flashed dangerously, and his hands were clenched painfully in fists.

"Did they kill him? That boy?" Draco screamed out in his frenzy, "Whoever the hell he is... did they... You? Did you help? You seem to know a lot more then you probably should!" Draco's breaths were coming out in harsh pants, and he was slowly becoming hysterical.

"You!" Draco screamed out, ans Severus took a step back in shock at the ferocity, "You, did you conspire against me! Did you help them, get rid of, block-ward, whatever the bleeding hell this curse is, my memories away so I wouldn't say anything?"

Draco continued his rant, screaming vile words, and paranoid questions with a look of betrayal and hurt on his face. Unbeknownst to him, Severus took three steps towards the boy in a sudden rage, and grabbed Draco's pointed chin in his long fingers, yanking his head up to meet his eyes. Draco squawked in surprise.

It was in that moment that Draco realised just how frightening Severus Snape could be.

"You little insufferable brat," Severus said, eyes flashing dangerously, "you want to remember? Well let me refresh your memories!"

Snape Grabbed Draco's face and leaned down so they were nose to nose, before screaming out:

"**Legillimens!"**

Draco's eyes widened in realisation, and he quickly tried to strengthen his Occulumens' shields.

_Too late,_ he realised,_ too late._

And soon, Severus was tearing through his mind, and then...

_He remembered._

*

Severus waited for his godson to regain his consciousness. The boy slowly blinked back into reality.

The blond abruptly began to tremble; his face became unnaturally pale. The shaking wracked his body, till he lost control and fell to the ground, at Severus' feet.

Draco opened his mouth to say something, or maybe just scream, and then he puked.

He threw up all the contents of his stomach, and when there was nothing left, he started to dry-heave. Finally, he stopped, glanced one time up at his godfather, and fainted.

Severus knelt to gather the boy in his arms, and slowly made his way back to the Manor.

* * *

Okay! Im really sorry for this one! I kinda left you on a cliffhanger, eh? But, not to worry, I plan on uploading the next part later on today! Or at least sometime early this week!

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Love, aetah!


	7. Chapter 7

Hello all! Look! I promised that I would upload this chapter today, and I did! Alright, this should quell all your answers, for a while! lol, I hope you like this chapter. *go to hide behing bushes* Dont kill me!!!

_**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story. I do not own the lyrics to Wine red, either!_

_**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest._

_Who shot that arrow in your throat?_

_Who missed the crimson apple?_

_While it hung heavy on the tree above your head?_

_This chaos this calamity,_

_This garden once was perfect,_

_Give your immortality to me_

_I'll set you up against the stars._

_Lyrics from Wine Red, by The Hush Sound_

* * *

_**August 27**__**th**__**, 1986**_

_The summer day was beautiful. Sun shining down on the green, grassy hills of the Malfoy Estate. Draco and Regulus had spent the day playing, running through the fields as fast as they could, rolling around in what Lucius claimed "undignified" fashion .It was okay, because it was such a lovely day._

_Yes, it had been a wonderful day, filled with laughter, and smiles, and__** noise**__._

_Until late in the afternoon, when everything went horribly, horribly wrong._

_Regulus had always been adventurous, always dragging Draco into his misadventures. _

_Instead of heading in, towards the Manor, Regulus had pulled Draco to the edge of the fields, where the dark forest suddenly leaped into existence._

"_Draco! C'mon! Hurry up!" The boy pulling at his arm yanked him through the dense forest._

"_I... I don't think that we should be doing this! Mummy said we weren't to pass the forest's edge!" younger-Draco exclaimed, frightfully rushing through the trees. Still Regulus continued to run through the forest._

"_Aw, don't be like that!" Regulus began, "Aren't you curious? I mean, what's so bad 'bout going into a forest? The other day, we got to play in the Eldwyn Forest!"_

_Draco sped up a bit, Reg was fast. _

_Finally, they both reached the end of the trees._

_Then, the forest was behind the two young boys, and they were in a field. Long, wild wheat was billowing in the winds. Up ahead was an old-fashioned, gothic church._

_The church was quite big. It had pointed windows, and dark walls. The windows were stain glass, and a large, round window filtered purple light from the disappearing sun. Crows were nestled on the roof and in every tiny crack in the walls. Their sharp cries pierced the otherwise deadly silent field. The old, cracked bells were chiming softly across the field, as if they were sending a warning to all those surrounding. _

_Draco shivered as an icy chill ran through him. He wanted, at that very moment, to be anywhere but __**here.**__ Draco chanced a glance at his dark-haired playmate. _

_Reg was smiling as if his birthday had come early. He clapped his hands together, and, with a devilish smirk, exclaimed, "It's fantastic! Let's go in!"_

_Regulus made his way to the abandoned church, until he realized his more fearful companion wasn't at his side. The dark-haired boy turned around._

_Draco was pale with fear. _"_No, we should go back... C'mon Reg, let's go back, please!" Desperation was sinking in. They couldn't go further! Something bad would happen. Draco just knew it._

"_Don't worry Draco! I'll be here, so you don't have to worry!"__Regulus sounded so confident in his statement, that when Reg extended his hand in invitation, Draco grasped it hesitantly, and followed the boy through the wheat field, towards the dark church._

_The old, wooden doors were huge and heavy. The made a huge creaking noise as they opened on rusty hinges. The boys made their way through the doorway, and into the church._

_It was old, and the cobblestone floor was filled with cracks and holes. Both the young children tripped and stumbled down the corridor. _

_The purple light that was filtering through the windows was slowly disappearing, and through it all the bells rang their musical warnings louder and louder. When the last piercing of light finally disappeared, the boys had made it down the entire corridor, and were now standing in front of the door, obviously leading to the open isles where the mass would have been held._

_Suddenly the church was pitch black, and one, last, loud chime of the bell rang out in all it's haunting glory._

"_What's going on?" asked Draco when all of a sudden there was only silence. Not even the noise of the crows outside could be heard. His grip on Reg's hand tightened painfully._

"_I don't kn-_

_Then they heard a loud, earsplitting scream. It made the both of them stumble, and fall to the floor as they used there hands to try to block out the painful sound. _

"_What in the-_

_All of a sudden the noise stopped, and Regulus was pulling Draco away from the door to the inner chapel, and towards the exit in a panicked run. _

"_Hurry Draco! Hurry! We have to get out of here!" Regulus' voice was laced with fear. _

_Oh god, they had reached the halfway point of the corridor before Draco realized that something was blocking the exit._

_**Vampires.**_

"_Oh Morgan! The other way!" Regulus was sounding desperate now, "We have to go the other way! Oh nononononononooo, oh god!"_

_Soon they were racing towards the other end, towards the inner part of the building. An evil, cackling laughter was following them. The boys ran as if they were running through water, fear swelling up their throats._

_Finally they reached the door. Regulus clawed at it in a frenzy as Draco screamed for him to please, ohgodpleasepleaseplease, hurry up. Finally the door swung open, and both boys darted up the main isle, towards the wide, stage altar._

_Once they arrived, they searched for an exit. _

_They found none._

"_Merlin, Morgan! What are we going to do, Reg?" Draco was crying now, frustrated and scared beyond all belief, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" _

_Regulus came up to the hysterical blond, ignoring Draco's sudden mantra, and slapped him, hard. The blonds head stayed facing the direction Regulus' hand had pushed it towards, tears still streaming down his face._

"_Draco," Regulus said, grabbing the other boy in a hug, "let me think for a sec, okay? Just for a moment."_

_Draco nodded into Regulus' neck._

_Then Regulus came up with a plan. _

"_Draco! Remember the lesson we had a couple days ago? The ritual one... I forget what it was called, the protection thingy..."_

_Draco's eyes widened in realization. He wrenched himself away from the other boy, and dug his hands into his pocket, retrieving a small, leather pouch. _

"_The Protection Circle! We have to draw a protection circle!"_

_Soon Draco and Regulus were pouring out sand from the pouch, creating a circle, dotted with different symbols and runes. When they were finished, they sat, staring at each other, searching for strength in the other's eyes, praying to any deity that this worked._

_Nothing happened._

"_What," Regulus started, tears slipping down his eyes, "what went wrong? What did we forget?" Draco paled even further, and he started to tremble._

"_A sacrifice," Draco said in a hushed tone, and Regulus looked up at him in surprise, "we need a willing blood sacrifice. It won't work unless one of us dies, so the other can live."_

_Regulus started to cry, and grabbed Draco in a fierce hug. "I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!"_

"_It's okay Reg, I forgive you," Draco answered in a strange tone._

"_We'll," Regulus started, "we'll be okay! I know it! We'll both make it out of this! We made a promise to be together forever, so nothing bad will happen!"_

_Regulus was clutching Draco to his chest, burying his head in Draco's soft, blond hair. _

_Draco reached his hands up, slowly returning the hug as Regulus continued to whisper promises in his ear. _

_The dagger pierced Regulus in the back, and the dark-haired boy made a gurgling sound in shock and pain._

_Draco had stabbed him in the back, and now the blood was starting to pool around there knees._

_Draco quickly untangled himself from the other boy, glancing around the large room. The vampires, in all their haunting glory, had born witness to the betrayal. They sent deranged and knowing smirks to the young blond, and then, they descended upon Regulus in a feeding frenzy. _

_Regulus' screams echoed through the entire church. Draco still had the dark dagger in his hands, and was covered in dark, red blood._

_For one moment, Regulus' eyes caught Draco's; they were shining with betrayal as the vampire nest clawed at him, tearing him apart._

_Draco made a run for it._

_Reg's screams followed him all the way home._

_*_

When Draco awoke this time, he was in his bed, clean and rested for the first time in days. Severus was at his side, black eyes staring down at him. He had been waiting patiently for his godson to wake.

"Who," Draco began in a hoarse voice, "who was he? Please, I need to know."

Severus sighed, and said, "He was your cousin."

"Bellatrix's _son?"_ Draco asked. Severus nodded.

Draco clutched at his sheets, staring strait ahead.

"I," his voice broke, "I did that? I _killed_ my own cousin?"

"Draco," Severus began, "you must forget this. You were young, and scared. You did what you were taught. You are _not to blame._"

Draco didn't answer, and silence reigned until several house elves came in, holing plates of food for there young Master.

"You need to eat. You are underweight, and have probably stunted your growth, insufferable boy." Severus, Draco noted, had a funny way of showing concern.

Under his godfather's watchful gaze, he finished his first full meal in weeks.

"You will get ready," Severus said, once Draco was finished, "We are leaving for Diagon Alley to pick up supplies for school. It starts in a week, and you have yet to buy anything."

Severus left the room, and Draco slowly made his way to his en-suite bathroom.

Once he was stripped, and inside his large, open shower, his knees gave out. He huddled in the corner and began to cry. It was then that he felt a scream rise in his throat, and, unable to keep it down, he began to scream, and scream, and scream. The water eventually ran cold, and still he let loose scream after scream.

Severus chose to ignore them.

* * *

Well, I think that you'll have something to say about this! So PLEASE REVIEW! I really need it right now.... Im sorry Draco!!!!

*Runs to go hide from any angry mob*

Love, aetah.


	8. Chapter 8

Yay, I uploaded. Okay, so yes, Draco is a horrible person for doing that, but I swear he's feeling REALLY bad about it! Anyways, I hope you like this chapter! :)

_**Disclaimer: **I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story._

_**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest._

* * *

Diagon Alley was a bustle of excitement. Wizards and witches of all ages packed around the bookstores, the pet shops, the supplies stores, in the last minute preparations of the up-coming school year. The town, with it's old fashioned charm, and quaint setting that had always been a familiarity and comfort to Draco, was anything but at the moment.

The crowds made him feel as if he were being chocked, and he had to use all of his self-control to keep from hyperventilating. The shopkeepers, who had always greeted him as a welcomed costumer, now sneered and made rude remarks about him behind their hands. Draco felt as if the eyes of the entire wizarding world were scrutinising his every move, ready to reveal his treachery to the entire world.

Severus had accompanied him to Diagon Alley. The journey there had been silent, and Draco wanted nothing more to scream his guilt to the world, because, oh Godohmygod he had killed his own cousin, and it was all his fault, and he couldn't even fix this, and now he wanted to crawl under a rock and die. Then Severus had made his way towards his favourite apocathary to restock his potions ingredients for the school year. He spared Draco a quiet goodbye, and then Draco was alone.

The blond had made his way past the Leaky Cauldron, towards one of his usual boutiques, in search of any of his friends. To his luck, he saw the form of one Pansy Parkinson, flouncing about in a bright pink dress with too many ruffles.

"Did your mother dress you again, Pans?"

Pansy spun around on her heel, eyes narrowed, ready to deliver a scathing reply, before she realised who had just spoken. Her sneer transformed in to a brilliant smile, and she rushed forward to enveloped Draco in a tight hug.

"Draco!" she screeched in her high-pitched voice, "I haven't heard any news of you at all! How was the," her voice lowered in to a whisper, dark eyes twinkling madly with the knowledge that she had claim to new gossip, "_mystery coming along?"_

Another stab of guilt shot through Draco, but he covered it up well. "Ah, it goes well, I guess," he said, trying to ignore the subject, "and what of you, Pans, why are you wearing _that_ absolute monstrosity?"

Pansy rolled her eyes at his nit-picking. "Honestly Dee," Draco scowled at the nickname, "you're such a ponce."

Draco's cheeks flushed a bit, and Pansy cackled victoriously.

Draco coughed, and sent his friend a wry smile, "whatever, Pans," he said, "how are your last days of summer coming along?"

Pansy began to chat incessantly, and Draco felt a small bit of normality come back to him. Pansy continued to talk, waving her arms about and making wild gestures as she described one of her many conquests. Draco pretended to smiled and laughed at her jokes.

And Pansy pretended not to notice how those smiles and laughs never reached his eyes.

*

Once Pansy had finished her clothing shopping, she had to return home. Draco, who was almost finished his shopping list, had called a house-elf to take his purchases home so he could finish his last shopping trip.

The slytherin had made his way towards the bookstore, but had become distracted by a nagging feeling, so he decided to take a short walk.

It was now evening, and the streets were slowly becoming less and less crowded, and Draco was thankful for his sudden ability to breath. No longer feeling claustrophobic, his mind had a chance to muse freely. He wandered along the streets aimlessly, not really paying attention to where he was going.

Eventually, he made his way to a dead-end, but, before he could turn around, to make his way back, his eyes took notice of a small Ice-cream store: _Darwin's Frozen Delights_.

He recognised the shop from somewhere...

"_Please, mommy? Please can we get some?"_

"_Not now, we have to hurry home. Besides, your father would be upset if he found out."_

"_Aw, c'mon auntie! We won't tell nobody!"_

"_Remember proper grammar, Regulus. You say, you won't tell anybody, understand?"_

"_Of course Auntie!"_

Draco felt bile rise up his throat as the sudden memory came back to him.

He made his way to the door of the small shop, and opened the door. A small chime of a bell went off as he entered. Draco made his way to a small, round table, and sat down.

He stared out the window, and lost himself in his memories.

"_Mmm, this is so good," exclaimed a small Regulus happily, his big, bright grey eyes shining brightly._

"_Mmm," young-Draco hummed in agreement._

"_Draco, remember, no telling your father, understand? The same goes for you as well Regulus," said an uptight Narcissa. Even though she was nervous, her face softened as she took in the happy faces of her charges._

"_We promise," both boys said at the same time, before erupting into mad giggles._

"What can I get for you, young Master?" asked a rather old man with a balding head of grey, and a small, scraggly beard. He had a jolly look about him, and twinkling blue eyes that reminded Draco of Dumbledore.

"Just a small vanilla cone," he said, sending the man a small smile.

"Good choice sir," the kind old man said, before scurrying back to the kitchens. Draco smiled at the old man's mannerisms.

Draco had just returned to his musings, when the small chime went off again, and a loud crowd made their way into the ice-cream store. Draco glanced in the direction of the laughter and chatting voices. He scowled in recognition.

In walked Harry Potter and his little cronies.

Draco quickly rose to leave, not in the mood for the oncoming confrontation. Unfortunately for him, his movements caught the attention of the Golden Group. Silence enveloped the room, and a sudden tension filled the air. The old man, who had come bustling out of the kitchens with Draco's order, stilled when he noticed the sudden uneasiness in the shop.

"Potter," Draco greeted, eyes narrowing at his rival.

"Malfoy," Potter answered, just as nastily.

"Harry, this little albino bothering you?" asked an unfamiliar voice.

Draco's eyes followed the direction of the voice, and his throat swelled up. Sirius Black stood beside Potter, grey eyes narrowed in suspicion. Black had long dark, black hair that fell to his shoulders, and dark grey eyes. For a second, Draco saw the face of Regulus, and winced in guilt. Merlin, he wanted to be anywhere but under the fiery gaze of those grey eyes, so much like his own.

He felt a rush of gravity, and started to sway a bit.

"Malfoy, are you okay?" asked the Granger, hesitantly raising a hand towards the blond.

Draco jumped out of her reach, and scowled nastily at her.

"Don't touch me," he snarled at her. Granger flinched, and Draco felt a bit better.

"Oi, ferret, leave Hermione alone," came the bratty voice of Ron Weasley, who had grown even taller and lankier than last year.

Draco was just about to give a nasty retort, when a voice interrupted him, "Malfoy? As in Draco Malfoy? Narcissa's son?" Sirius asked in surprise.

Draco suddenly found the floor to be ten times more fascinating then anything else in the room. What if this man knew about Regulus? Draco felt another wave of nausea come over him, as he nodded in affirmative.

"Ha! I knew it!" continued Sirius, blithely ignoring the looks that Potter and his friends shot him in warning, "haven't seen you since you were a baby! How's your mom been? Cissa still got that pole up her...

"Don't talk about my mother that way!" Draco snarled at the once convict, regretting it immediately. Sirius looked taken-aback, and gave him a look a puppy might give to it's kicker.

_Regulus' big grey eyes, gazing up in pain at his betrayal._

"I," Draco said shakily, "I-I have to be somewhere..."

He all but ran out of the shop, leaving behind a frustrated and confused looking Golden trio, and a suddenly very sheepish Sirius Black.

*

Draco was reaching for one of his textbooks, when he met Hermione Granger for a second time. She was gazing at him suspiciously as she reached for the same book as him. Draco scowled at the annoyingly bright witch, and grabbed the book before her. She scowled at him, and took the one just behind it.

They both looked at each other once they had both of their books. The tension left, and all of a sudden the air turned awkward.

Draco coughed, and was just about to turn to leave, when Granger spoke up.

"So, are you taking Advanced Healing as well?" asked the Gryffindore witch.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he replied. Granger ignored his glares, and continued to speak to him.

"Well, don't you find the subject fascinating? I mean, the way somebody can actually _push _their magic into a wound, and repair the skin cells? Or the way that we can unblock the build up of cancers or tumours by..."

"Granger, why are you speaking to me?" Draco asked tiredly. It had been a long day, and this was the last stop for him.

"Malfoy," she asked, brown eyes shining in concern, "usually you wouldn't spare a single thought at insulting me. Are you alright?"

"Granger, why in the name of Merlin's frilly knickers, do you care?"

Granger opened her mouth to answer Draco, but was interrupted by a loud, obnoxious voice.

"Malfoy! Leave Hermione alone!" snarled Weasley.

"Weasley, your little girlfriend came on to me," Draco said maliciously, " but who could blame her? Who would want a ginger haired, poor..."

"Malfoy, shut it!" yelled Weasley, face rapidly turning red, "Your one to talk, I hear your dear old daddy's not doing so well. What, your slimy master not coming to his rescue?"

Draco's face flushed slightly at the taunting, and he was about to deliver a come-back, when Granger spoke up.

"Ronald Weasley! Leave him alone, he's not even worth it!" she screeched in her self-righteous voice.

"But 'mione!" whine Weasley in response, "he's so bratty. He walks around like owns the place and...

Draco saw his chance to escape and took it. As he walked away, he ignored the petty squabbling between those two. He shuddered at the monstrosity of sexual tension, and chuckled (giggled) at the thought of the bushy-haired, ginger, freckled, buck-toothed children those two would one day create.

* * *

Yay for Hermione! Anyways, please review! It's what keeps me going.

Love, aetah


	9. Chapter 9

Et voila! Another chapter. This one is pretty short.... Im sorry!!!

_**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story. _

_**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest._

* * *

Curiosity killed the cat.

Draco didn't know what exactly had inspired him to do it, but for some reason, he had the urge to go look for the dagger. The dagger his father had once gifted to him, in order to protect himself. The dagger he had plunged into his cousin's, Regulus', back.

Draco had searched in various places in search of the weapon, but to no avail. It was not to found.

Then a sudden thought hit him.

What if he had dropped it his rush out of the dark Church, on that terrible day?

The blond had pushed that thought away. He was determined never to go back to that place. Never.

But then he became more and more curious as the days passed. And as the upcoming school year drew closer, Draco couldn't help it. He was beyond curious; he was obsessed, and this was his final chance to retrieve the dagger.

He set out the day before the end of summer vacation, early in the morning.

The Dark forest was as unwelcoming as it had always been. The blond cut his way through the forest, tripping and stumbling along. He tried his best to remember the steps he and Regulus had taken when they were younger.

It was about noon when Draco arrived at the field.

The Church stood in all it's haunting glory up ahead. The blond made his way slowly towards the large, wooden doors of the Church.

He hesitantly brought his hand up to the handle, and, gathering his courage, he pulled the old doors open with all his might. The door creaked on old rusty hinges when it opened. Draco entered the corridor.

Draco shuddered as he remembered the screams that had echoed in this very place. The blond wanted nothing more than to turn and run.

He made his way quickly down the hallway, ignoring the knot in his stomach. At the end of the hallway, stood the same door he and Regulus had clawed at in desperation. Draco opened the door, and stepped into the large, open aisle.

He made his way up to the altar. As he walked up the steps, he noticed a dark circle on the floor, right in the centre.

Draco made his way towards it.

There, in all it's horrid glory, stood the dagger, plunged into the circle of dark, maroon that stained the altar.

"Morgana help me," Draco stuttered when he knelt down to investigate the stain. It was blood. Regulus' blood! Draco reared backwards, and crawled backwards, away from the scene.

Guilt stabbed at Draco's heart as he looked at the knife.

It was absurd! How could it still be there? The blond crawled towards the knife again, and took a closer look. There, under a layer of dust, was the sandy circle that they had made in a hurry. The runes were still intact.

"My god," Draco said in distressed awe.

_Ding, dong._

The bells had started ringing their warnings, and Draco started to tremble in fear.

Before he stood to make his exit, the guilt-ridden wizard grabbed the handle of the bloody dagger, and pulled it out of the floor.

In that moment a rush of power passed through the place. Suddenly something felt different, more urgent. And Draco thought he heard a noise, and spooked.

He ran out of the Church, away from his guilt, away from Regulus, away, away, away.

A dark figure smirked in delight at the quickly retreating blond wizard.

*

Later, after Draco had arrived home from his little adventure, he lay on his bed, examining the dark blade.

It was the very one he had received from his father on his fourth birthday. He had cherished it, Draco remembered.

The dagger was silver, and carried the Black crest. Three serpents swirled around the handle. Each had dark red rubies for eyes. The blade was light and easily balanced. It was crusted with old blood, and Draco resisted the urge to throw up.

He climbed out of bed, and headed for his en-suite bathroom, blade in hand.

He grabbed a towel and started to scrub away at the blood. It slowly peeled away, to reveal a shining blade, and a fancy-script inscription.

"_Toujours Pure"_

Draco sighed at the predictability, and slid the blade into the pocket of the robes he planned on wearing to the Hogwarts' Express. He then called a couple house-elves to pack for him.

He slipped under his bed covers, and lost himself in his nightmares.

* * *

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PLEASE!!!!!

Love, aetah


	10. Chapter 10

Hey look! Another chapter! Nya, I'm getting fast at this! Anyways, this chapter is filled with, well, just read and find out...

_**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story. _

_**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest._

* * *

The fog was thick on the morning of the Hogwarts Express' journey. Students, young and old, fought their way through the crowd to clamber on to the train. They greeted friends they hadn't seen in a while. Young first years clustered together, shifting awkwardly and staying out of the way of the older students. They bordered the train and shouted out loud farewells to their parents.

Draco hated every one of them.

The blond took it as his own personal duty to send them all scathing glares. He shuddered at the chilly air, and pulled his hood over his head. Draco turned around, and boarded the train, mumbling all the while under his breath.

He walked down the train, towards where his posse usually sat. The blond opened the door to the compartment and was abruptly engulfed in a tight hug.

"Dray! Thank Salazar you're here!" an overly excited Pansy exclaimed, tightening her hold on Draco, "Blaise is being a bloody moron. He keeps going on and on about how you're being all friendly with that bloody Granger!"

Draco winced as he detached himself from the witch carefully. Then he sent a scathing look towards Blaise.

"Why would you say that,_ Zabini_?" Draco felt vindicated when Blaise winced and looked sheepish at the cold use of his last name.

"Well," Blaise said quickly, "well, I saw you talking with her at the bookstore, and you didn't even tell her off!" Draco sighed at the explanation. He took a seat beside Pansy, and in front of Vincent who was happily chomping down on a chocolate frog.

"Yes, alright, she did come try to talk to me, but she was being her usual arrogant self. I tried my best to get her away from me, but she wouldn't listen. It was be all that atrocious hair that blocks out all voices except her own," Draco said, finally ending his glare. He winced inwardly at the half lie. The rest of the compartment laughed and continued to make fun of the golden trio. Draco let the noise wash over him, and he felt a sudden warmth towards his friends.

Pansy was chatting away at his side. Vincent and Gregory were fighting over a desperately struggling chocolate frog. Blaise was trying to catch his attention, and Draco was inwardly laughing at his feeble attempts. The dark haired boy had been acting odd ever since Draco had refused to sleep with him during their brief summer visit.

Suddenly the compartment door flew open, and a nearly breathless Daphne Greengrass burst into the room. Pansy scrunched her nose in distain.

"Honestly, Greengrass, what's the emergency?" Pansy asked scornfully.

Daphne panted heavily, and answered, "Come and see! There is an absolutely gorgeous new student! He's new and well," she stopped and took deep gulps of air, "Oh! Just come and see for yourselves!"

Pansy looked intrigued, and stood to follow. Draco followed suit, and soon the entire Slytherin posse was following Daphne through the train.

*

"It was nice of you to explain things to me, Miss Granger," said the handsome boy, grinning all the while, "it's wonderfully refreshing to be around someone as delightful as you."

Hermione blushed at the complement. The boy was absolutely dashing. Dark, windswept hair, tall, lean body, broad shoulders, dimpled cheeks, and beautiful eyes. The bushy haired witch felt light on her feet.

"It was no problem at all," Hermione answered.

"Ya, mate, stick with us and you'll have no problem at all," Harry Potter said, smiling warmly at the new student.

Ron gritted his teeth in jealousy, praying to any deity for divine intervention from this love-fest.

"Thank you. I think I'll...

"Well, well, well," came a snide voice from behind the group, "if it isn't the three musketeers. What? Looking for a new addition to your pathetic squad?"

The group turned to see who had just spoken.

To their surprise the voice had come from a sneering Pansy Parkinson, and not the suddenly quiet Draco Malfoy. Ron silently thanked the gods.

"Bugger off Porkinson," Hermione said, "Just leave us alone."

This sent a wave of snide laughter through the group, excluding Draco, who was still surprisingly quiet.

"I don't think so, Mudblood," Pansy said hatefully, before turning to the new wizard. "If I were you," she said, grinning like a wolf, "I wouldn't be caught dead with these losers, right Draco?"

There was no answer. Pansy, upset at the lack of agreement, turned to Draco to tell him off. She stoped as she got a good look at the blond.

Draco was pale, looking as if he had seen a ghost. She got a closer look and noticed that the boy was trembling. His eyes were wide and scared.

"Draco?" Pansy asked, bringing a hand towards him hesitantly, as if he were a frightened animal, "Dray, what's the matter, you look...." She trailed off.

Both groups attention was turned towards Draco. But Draco's attention was solely focussed on the new student.

"No," came the sudden whisper from the blond, as he seemed to snap out of his trance. Draco started to take a step backwards, breaking away from the posse.

"No, no, no," it became a mantra, and soon both groups became aware of the tension.

The new, dark haired boy smiled, and took a step towards the blond. Draco took a step back, then another, then another, until his back was pressed against the wall.

The Gryffindores' sent a questioning glance towards the also baffled Slytherins.

"Malfoy, are you okay?" asked a hesitant Hermione.

"It's alright," came the sudden voice from the new student, "he's probably just surprised to see me. Right, Draco?"

"You know him?" asked Harry, obviously startled.

The dark haired wizard smiled, and stepped towards the wide-eyed blond.

"Of course," he turned towards the blond, who was pressing himself into the wall, "Isn't that right, cousin?"

As the others in the hallway gasped in shock, Draco's eyes widened in disbelief.

"R-Re-" The blond was stuttering, "Regulus?"

Regulus smirked, and brought his hand up to cup his cousin's face. Draco shuddered.

_Cold, he was so cold._

Regulus aligned his mouth with Draco's ear, and whispered so only the blond could hear.

"I'm back, and it's time to pay what you owe."

Draco gasped, and pushed the supposed-to-be-dead boy away from him, turned his tail, and ran away from Regulus, again.

* * *

So... did you like it? Hate it? If so, please, please, PLEASE REVIEW!!!!

Nya, okay...

Love, Aetah


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, I wrote this at like 1am. It's short, but I'm happy with it. I hope you like it!

Oh, and **TearsOfTheForgotten**, you are my most favourite (and first) reviewer ever! I love you, aight? So I send to you all the virtual apples you want. (Yes, I give virtual apples... what? I'm a health nut!)

_**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story. _

_**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest._

* * *

Draco shook in fear as he slid to the ground, back to an empty compartment door. He began to hyperventilate, and quickly stuck his head between his legs, as he tried to catch his breath.

Oh god, no! This couldn't be happening! Regulus was dead! Draco had killed him! How?

How?

Draco tried to think, but nothing came to him. He trembled, and tears welled up on the sides of his eyes.

Regulus' touch had been so cold, like ice, or stone. And he was alive, and angry, and ohgodinheaven he was going to _kill_ Draco.

_Regulus aligned his mouth with Draco's ear, and whispered so only the blond could hear._

"_I'm back, and it's time to pay what you owe."_

What the hell did he mean? Was he going to murder Draco? Stab him in the back, just as the blond had done?

Draco tried to think properly. His mind was all over the place, and he needed to calm down. The frightened wizard took a couple deep breaths, and slowly he was soothed.

Draco brought his ands up to cradle his forehead, ignoring the calls his fellow Slytherins bellowed out in search of him. He wanted to remain hidden.

"You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay..." The mantra carried on, and Draco almost believed he was going to be okay.

Oh Draco, did you honestly think it would be that easy?

*

Severus Snape sent a scathing glare towards the new Professor. How he absolutely abhorred the man.

Black sent him a sneer in return, and Severus hated the man even more for looking somewhat like Draco.

The Potions Master had been less than thrilled when he heard the once-convict was getting off free, and even less thrilled when he heard that said convict had beaten him for the Defence against the Dark Arts job.

He turned his attention on the sorting hat, who was just announcing a new arrival to the Hufflepuffs.

_Great,_ thought the sour man, _another pathetic excuse of a wizard._

He glanced at his own table.

The Slytherins were quiet, and strangely hesitant. The usual obnoxious jokes and pranks were all both gone. Severus knew why. He felt it; they all felt it.

The Dark Lord had been growing in power, and now the entire world knew it. The Slytherins were cautious, and seemed even closer knit than usual. They, the Potions Master acknowledged, were watching their backs. That thought had him focussing on his favourite godson.

Draco was pale, and seemed even skinnier and ready to break than he had before. Severus wondered at that. The blond was seated between Crabbe and Goyle juniors, something he hadn't done since first year, when he had felt even more nervous and anxious around large crowds.

Severus' eyes narrowed, and he wondered what had caused the sudden, and drastic, change in behaviour. Even the knowledge of a forgotten murder had not gotten Draco this fearful.

Whatever had happened had affected Draco far too much, and Severus felt another murderous rage consume him.

*

"And with that," the old, and grey Headmaster announced, "we end the first years sorting."

A loud cheer broke out through three quarters of the school. The Slytherins were still quiet, but relieved at the fact that they could finally eat.

"But," Dumbledore carried on, "we have one more sorting to get through."

The students looked around in confusion.

"It is my honour to present to you a new Sixth year student, Regulus Black!"

The handsome boy made his way to the front, well aware of the sudden interests of the students. Their voices were a buzz of questions. Who was he? A Black, from the Noble House? The questions were met with only other questions, and a confusion swept through the school.

Regulus took his seat on the old, wooden stool, waiting for the ancient hat to be placed on his head. Minerva McgGonagall lowered the hat onto the boy's head.

The school waited on a baited breath.

*

_You, lad, are no normal wizard._

_A laugh._

_**No, I'm not.**_

_Dark, you have so many dark thoughts. They will lead you to nothing but sorrow._

_**So you say, hat, but I seriously doubt the predictions of an old, worn out, hat. **_

_If you say so. The question for me is, where to put you?_

_**Whichever is best.**_

_Ah, you're a smart one. Ravenclaw, perhaps?_

_A snort._

_No? Well, not Hufflepuff. No, that's no place for you. _

_**Obviously.**_

_Hmm, well you just seem to be determined to be put into Slytherin, don't you._

_**So, you've already figured me out? Just be quick, and put me in my rightful house.**_

_Ah, yet I see your true ambitions. _

_**I doubt that as well.**_

_So you choose, young Master. Before we part ways, I offer this knowledge to you:_

_Vengeance will harm all involved, and love will always win. Draco is not yours to claim._

*

"**SLYTHERIN!"**

The Slytherins burst out in excitement. The new arrival was suave, and handsome. He was obviously well-bred, and brought up within a proper household.

The Slytherins cheered in excitement, and Draco felt himself losing what was left of his mask.

_No, please Merlin, no._

* * *

Nya! Okay, I hope you like it. If you did... TELL ME DAMMIT!!!!!

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Love, aetah.


	12. Chapter 12

OMFG I AM BACK. Sorry for such a long delay, I've been super busy. Christmas, then I went to Mexico, and then I had exams. Bleh. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and for this chapter, there are scenes of light... BlaisexDraco. I know you readers are like: WHUT????? IT'S H/D!!!!

I know, lol. I couldn't help it. My Blaise is pathetic. *Hugs Blaise* But it will deffinetly be H/D.

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest.

* * *

The room seemed to still.

Draco watched, as if in slow motion, as Regulus made his way towards his table.

Step, step, step.

Draco's ears were burning, all sound blocked out by the never ending footsteps. He stood stock still, unable to look away, to move, yet wanting, yearning, to run, run, run, as far as he could.

Regulus sat down on the bench, right in front of the terrified blond who seemed unable to look the new Slytherin in the eyes. The Slytherins, finally noticing their "Ice Prince's" silence, quickly focused on the interaction between the two.

A hush fell over Slytherin, and for once, they were all silent.

Draco slowly lifted his eyes from his plate, and slowly locked gazes with the other grey eyed boy. The tension at the least favoured table raised several notches.

Draco felt the weight of all their scrutinising eyes somewhat distantly.

The blond felt odd. He gazed into the eyes of his own cousin, the boy he had supposedly killed, and felt something come over him.

He was losing himself in mirror grey eyes, drowning in their clouded depths. The other boy kept the same icy mask that they all wore, his entire family wore.

Draco felt himself falling. _Falling, falling, drowning._

That is, until Crabbe, in his rush for the large gravy boat, knocked over the pumpkin juice container. The sticky contents spilt all over the table, and the spell broke away with the tension. The other Slytherins' attentions where drawn away from their previous focuses. Draco turned to berate his large oaf of a friend.

When the Slytherins returned to their normal conversations, Draco chanced a glance at his cousin, but the other boy, to his relief, was already being accosted by Pansy. The blond could have kissed her, if that thought hadn't repulsed him so much.

"Oy, Draco, can you pass the raspberry jam, mate?" Goyle asked. Draco sighed at his lack of manners, and passed it to him.

*

The common room was noisy, and Draco wanted to get away.

He wanted to get away from the guilt of seeing his cousin alive and laughing with all his friends, away from Pansy's questions, away from Blaise's simpering looks. He needed to get out of here.

He silently climbed the steps to his room, praying no one followed. No one did.

The room was quiet and soothing to the blond. All the green-clothed beds were aligned around the room. The dancing flames of the candles cast shadows about the dorm.

Draco made his way to his bed, and pulled back his covers. He crawled into bed, not bothering to change. He was too tired, exhausted from the aftershock of the events that had taken place earlier before. The blond reached up and pulled the rope that held his bed curtains, and they fell around the bed. He then doused the lights with a wave f his wand, and collapsed into a deep sleep.

*

_The hallways were dark, and the candles that hung upon the walls flickered until they were only buds of the flames they once were. A chill passed through Draco._

_He stepped quickly, his pace increasing until he was almost jogging. The cobblestones under his feet echoed with every step. The hallway seemed never-ending._

_Draco tripped._

_A dark chuckle behind him made the blond turn. There, almost completely obscured by the darkness, stood his supposed-to-be-deceased cousin._

"_Draco, where do you think you're going? You cannot run; it's no use," Regulus sneered, "Give in, surrender."_

_Draco tried to stand and run, but his legs felt like lead. He tried to claw his way up the cold, stone wall, but his arms were paralyzed, and oh Merlin, Regulus was coming closer. Why couldn't he move? The blond tried to scream, but his mouth felt like it was filling with water. He was chocking and crying._

_He shut his eyes firmly, wishing-praying- for it to be over._

_He felt a weight surrounding him._

_*_

Draco awoke with the feeling of a weight pressing him down unto his mattress. He tried let out a shrill scream, and struggled violently against his oppressor.

"Draco! Draco, wake up! It's just me!" a clearly disgruntled Blaise said, struggling to keep Draco calm.

Draco stopped his struggle, and tensed up. He opened his eyes, and blinked until his tears were gone. The blond looked up at his friend, and sometimes lover, and blinked in confusion.

"Blaise?" Draco asked, voice cracking from the screams he had let out, "Blaise, why are you in my bed?"

Blaise released the blond and sat up. Draco visibly relaxed and turned over to stare at the other boy, sitting across from him. He rubbed his wrist; they stung from being clutched tightly.

Draco examined his friend.

Blaise was hunched over, dark hair falling over his eyes. He was focusing on the bed sheets, and the silence was killing Draco.

The blond sat up, shaking a bit from the effort. He reached over slowly, and touched the side of his friend's cheek lightly.

Blaise grabbed his hand suddenly, holding it so hard that Draco almost winced. What was going on? Draco was confused.

"Draco," Blaise's voice was husky from sleep, "what's wrong with you? Why were you so...? Why don't you tell me what's going on?"

The dark haired Slytherin pulled the blond to his chest, and clutched him tightly. He shut his eyes and wished that he could hold Draco forever.

Draco didn't understand why Blaise was acting this way. What was his motive?

*

Okaaayyyy, so obviously Draco is emotionally-reatrded, and Blaise is hopeless.

BWAHAHAHAHA! READ ON!!!!

and, of course, REVIEW!

please??? Pretty please??

love, aetah


	13. Chapter 13

Oh my god, its been a long time! But I have excuses, good ones! HONEST!!! I have had a very stressful couple of weeks. I fell in love, fell out of love, suffered a break up, and now Im kinda-sorta-maybe back in love...okay, Im still in highschool, please dont judge my....ahem...immaturity. *Insert sweatdrop here*

I hope you enjoy this Chapter!!!

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest.

* * *

When Draco woke up, he was in the dark. It was obviously still night time.

He noticed, through the fog of sleep, that Blaise still had him in a tight grip. The dark haired Slytherin was clutching him to his chest. The other boy's breathe made Draco's fine blond hair flutter at every exhalation.

Draco slowly, so to not wake his dark-haired friend, pried himself from Blaise's grip. He slithered out from under his sheets, and slipped out of his bed.

He made his way to the door leading out of the boy's dormitory, before turning to take one last look a his sleeping classmates. Draco then turned, and made his way out of the Slytherin dorm.

He had somewhere to be.

*

Harry Potter had just spent the best summer of his entire life. He had lived with his Godfather, Sirius Black, and had gotten to see Hermione and Ron whenever he wanted to.

So you can understand how Harry must have felt, after all this happiness, to hear from his old and wise headmaster that he would be taking lessons, again, for Occlumency with none other than Severus Snape. And, as he slammed into the wall after a rather violent attempt at warding his mind, he thought that this was particularly unfair. Snape seemed to be on a slight rampage. Harry vaguely wondered what could have disturbed him, through the haze of searing pain that had shot through him as his head had made contact with the cold stone walls.

Ouch.

He was about to pick himself up off the floor when the door burst open suddenly, and Draco Malfoy came in looking more afraid than Harry had ever seen him.

*

Draco had barged into the Potions classroom, hoping to find his elusive Godfather there.

Instead he had found Harry-bloody-Potter, of all people, lying on the floor, staring up at him through broken glasses. He had very green eyes.

Draco was very taken aback for a moment, and then Severus spoke up, "Mr. Malfoy is there a reason you are barging into my classroom at this hour?"

"Professor, there is something that I need desperately to address to you...it is of the utmost importance," Draco said, all the while his eyes never left Potter's, "and, erm...why is Potter lying on your floor?"

Severus glared at the Potter.

"Get on your feet boy. I have no time for your nonsense," Severus said, sneering at Potter.

Potter scrambled to his feet, never breaking eye-contact with Draco.

Draco sneered at the boy, meanwhile wondering why he was on the floor.

"You are dismissed Potter. Return to your dorm," Severus said in his usual disdainful manner. Potter eyed the two Slytherins warily, and quickly brushed past Draco on his way out.

When the door shut behind Potter, Draco let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He turned and looked at his godfather, and opened his mouth to speak. Severus put up a hand to silence him.

"I know what you are here for, Draco," Severus grimaced in distaste, "I have no clue as to why that...boy is still alive. He should be dead."

"Well, obviously he isn't!" Draco all but screamed at his professor, "You should have heard him! He wants me dead...or worse! I...what am I going to do? Sev..."

Severus grabbed the boy and sat him down on one of the hard wooden chairs.

"There is nothing I can do except tell you to be wary at all times. Never trust anyone...Slytherin is no longer safe for you," Severus said gravely, causing shivers to run up Draco's spine.

*

The walk back to Slytherin dorms was long and eerily quiet.

Draco padded down the hallway, hurried footsteps bouncing of the stone walls. The blond heard a noise from behind him. He stopped and whipped around, eyes darting around, hoping to find the originator of the noise.

The hallway was empty.

Draco sighed, and laughed at his own fear. He continued down the hallway.

He spun around again and halted when he heard slightly muffled sobs.

He sighed in relief when he saw the culprit of the noises.

There stood a small girl-couldn't be older than a first year- with dark ebony curls falling delicately around her bowed head. Her small shoulders were shaking with sobs, her hands covering her face, as if to hide her tears. Draco looked down at her pityingly, and knelt down so that they were eye-level.

"There, there," he began, wincing inwardly at the sweetness of his tone, "are you lost? Do you need some help getting back to your house? Which house do you belong to?"

He wrapped his fingers delicately around her small wrists, and gently pulled her hand away from her face.

Draco wrenched himself away from the girl in shock, and fell painfully back on his butt, and backed up as far away as he could get.

Red eyes. Blood red eyes were staring at him in a twisted delighted way.

Her small mouth stretched back into a demented smile, baring her fangs at him.

Laughter filled the hallway as Draco scrambled up the wall, and ran towards the Slytherin dormitories.

_Wham!_

He ran straight into a hard body. Fangs bearing down at him, the same cruel smile adorning this stranger's face, and dark red eyes glaring down at him in the dark.

"Ello poppet," the man giggled insanely. Draco wrenched himself away and ran towards the opposite direction.

Laughter, there was laughter everywhere. How many could there be? Draco ran, and ran, and ran, until his lungs felt like they were going to burst, and his legs collapsed beneath him.

The blond heard footsteps approaching at a fast pace, and screamed in despair.

It wasn't fair! He had tried so hard to get away!

He heard the dreaded footsteps getting closer and withdrew his wand, aiming at the approaching sound.

"Malfoy, you okay? Why did you scream?"

And for what felt like the first time in his life, Draco would admit, he had never been so happy to hear Harry Potter's obnoxiously nosy voice.

* * *

Soooo, did you like it? Hate it? Please tell me! I live for your reviews.

Love, aetah.


	14. Chapter 14

I should probably start this off with an apology. Im sorry for being so slow at finishing chapters. It's just...real life has been really hectic for me lately. -_- I know...stupid life! Lol.

But I do hope you all enjoy this chapter. Yay, Harry's in it!

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest.

* * *

Harry Potter approached the weeping blond cautiously.

Malfoy was leaning against a wall on the ground, head cradled in his hands, as he shook in obvious fear. When he heard Harry approaching, his head sprung up and he looked around with wide eyes.

He was, Harry realised, terrified.

The dark haired boy quickly made his way towards his school nemesis.

As the blond drew his wand and aimed it in his general direction, Harry quickly made himself known.

"Malfoy, you okay? Why did you scream?" Harry asked, his arms up, making it known that he bore no harm to the frightened boy.

Malfoy's eyes widened and he let out a deep sigh of relief, and lowered his wand.

Harry kneeled down in front of his rival, and asked hesitantly, "What happened? Are you okay?"

Malfoy was breathing awfully hard and his eyes continued to search the corridor for something. He looked like a frightened child.

Finally, Malfoy seemed to be able to grasp a hold of himself, and he turned his focus on Harry.

"Potter...What are...why are you here?" he asked, his voice stuttering uncharacteristically.

Harry scowled; even terrified, the blond was constantly on his case about something.

"Never mind that," Harry told the blond, green eyes sparkling with aggravation, "Just tell me what happened!"

Malfoy narrowed his eyes at Harry, and sent him a glare.

"Nothing. Nothing happened, so why don't you just go bugger yourse—"

Malfoy froze as they both heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Malfoy's eyes widened and he grabbed a hold of Harry's shirt, and pulled both of them into an alcove Harry had never noticed before.

"Malfoy, what the bloody hell are you do—"

He was cut off by the blonde's hand covering his mouth. His voice was muffled. Malfoy brought one finger up, to his own mouth, silently telling Harry to shut up.

Harry's attention was soon caught by the footsteps, and he wondered what could be so horrible, that Malfoy was afraid for even Harry's safety.

*

Draco's heart was beating quickly in his chest. He heard the voices that accompanied the footsteps. They seemed to be having a conversation in low tones amongst themselves.

Draco removed his hands from Potter's mouth (shudder) and braced himself on the wall. He slowly crept forward, trying to get a look at the faces of the voices.

He waited quietly, and, after what seemed like forever, the identity of the voices was made clear.

Shit!

Draco flung himself backwards, trying to hide deeper in the alcove. By accident, he knocked into Potter, who had been trying to see who was talking over Draco's head.

Both stumbled, and Draco clung to Potter as they started to fall backwards. Until Potter hit the wall, and clung to it, holding both himself, and the blond up. Both were panting hard while trying to remain as quiet as they could.

So awkward.

The voices got louder and louder, until they passed right by Draco and Potter's hiding place.

"Teehee, Reggy you're all tense, you should really calm down" The cheerful voice of the dark haired man from before could be heard.

A grunt was heard in response.

A third voice, one that was younger than the others, spoke up.

"Enough Gabriel, we shall return to the forest. Regulus, calm yourself and get some rest. You will need it."

"Farewell Anita, farewell moron."

A giggle was head, before a swishing noise passed by the alcove, and the two intruders were gone.

It was silent; Draco felt his heart beat speed up. Had Regulus found him and Potter out? Draco looked up at his Gryffindor rival. His green eyes were flashing with suspicion. Draco stilled. When had he gotten so close?

Potter was straining to hear, while trying to decipher what was going on. Draco felt the other boy tense, and realised that this was the closest he'd ever been to Potter, other than the fist fights that had broken out between them before.

Draco looked at his pale hands, clutching tightly at the red fabric of Potter's ugly red Gryffindor jumper.

Merlin, what was wrong with him?

His heart was racing, and he convinced himself that it was Regulus' silence that was making him nervous.

The finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Refulus' footsteps could be heard retreating towards the Slytherin dorms. When his cousin was finally out of sight, Draco wrenched himself away from Potter in contempt, and pushed his way out of the alcove.

He was stopped with a large hand restraining his arm.

"Malfoy," he heard a croaking voice behind him, "What is going on?"

Draco didn't look back, his back facing Potter. He lowered his head, blond bangs hiding his stormy grey eyes.

"Just, leave me be."

The blond tried to yank his arm away from Potter, but the other held firm.

"Listen Malfoy," the other boy said firmly, "I don't like you, but if there is something wrong you should-"

"There's nothing! Nothing is wrong with me!" He yelled, pivoting on his foot, and levelling a fierce glare in Potter's direction, "You think...you think you can just stand there, all self-righteous, playing the part of the perfect little saviour? You're pathetic!"

Potter was watching him with wide eyes. He looked like he had been slapped. Good, thought Draco, that's better.

But Draco wasn't done.

"You stand there, offering me help? Do you...do you have ANY idea what I can do? What I...What I've done?" Draco was aware of the oncoming feeling of hysteria, "Some of us don't need you to save us!"

Potter backed away from the hysterical blond, hitting the wall behind him.

"Some of us," Draco's voice lowered until Potter had to strain his ears to pick up the rest of the sentence, "some of us...don't want to be saved."

* * *

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Love, Aetah


	15. Chapter 15

* * *

Im here!! XD This chapter took me a while to actually write. Sorry for the delay! Please enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not make any claims on anything but the idea for this story... and a couple of my OC characters that will eventually be brought in to this story.

**Warnings:** There will be HPDM slash. As in BoyxBoy love. Don't like it, don't read it. Also, I will be adding a couple (one in the least) OC characters to this story, But rest assured, none will be Mary Sues or Gary Sues, okay? Oh, and some things in the later chapters could be taken as incest (Not between close relatives!!! Ewww! More like cousins). It's not really incest, but some people might take it as incest.

* * *

Potter had been unable to say anything, and Draco had grown tired of waiting. With a shaky huff, the blond had flounced down the corridor, trying to get as far away from his Gryffindor rival as possible.

Until he realised he was alone again, and Regulus was probably waiting for him in Slytherin.

Draco shuddered at the thought of seeing his cousin again. He came to a full stop, and, after taking several calming breaths, thought about what he was going to do.

He couldn't go back the way he came, for it would be horribly embarrassing to run in to Potter again. It would probably lead to Potter asking him all sorts of unnecessary and annoying questions that the blond truly had no time for. Although, the embarrassment was probably better than the alternative that was waiting for him in Slytherin.

Draco stayed still for a moment, quietly weighing the pros and cons of each path.

Regulus.

What was he planning? What horrible fate awaited Draco if he were to return to his dorm?

Well, Draco wasn't in Slytherin for nothing. His sense of self-preservation kicked in, and he turned and fled back in Potter's direction, hoping the other boy had already gone to bed.

Draco spent the night wandering around the dungeons, dodging Filch and patrolling teachers.

It was fine. Draco was fine. He could handle this.

He was used to insomnia by now.

It was the self-hate a guilt that came to him like tidal waves of pain that he couldn't bear.

*

Harry glanced at the Great Hall's giant oak doors for the twenty-fourth time. Hermione knew this, because she had been counting, slyly observing her friends increasingly perturbing actions. She could only wonder who he was watching for. Slowly time passed by, and Harry only seemed to get more and more agitated.

Hermione let her focus shift from Harry to Ron, who was munching away (Still? Honestly...) on...whatever he could fit into his mouth, oblivious to the oppressive silence at the Gryffindor table.

Hermione glanced again at Harry. Make that the twenty-fifth time. What was Harry waiting for?

Hermione glanced around the Hall, mentally scratching off every person who could be missing breakfast. She made her way through the Hufflepuffs, and then the Ravenclaws, then squinted her eyes to try and see who could be missing at the Slytherin table.

Hermione almost gasped.

In the seat Draco Malfoy had claimed rightful ownership to since his first year, sat the new transfer student, Regulus Black. Laughing at some joke Parkinson had made, and taking small sips of what appeared to be pumpkin juice.

It was, for some twisted reason, a very alarming turn of events. Naturally, if Malfoy had been here, he would have hexed the new Slytherin to oblivion and back, and yet...there was Regulus, safe and sound, and appearing to be having a grand time.

Ron, who had noticed (finally) Hermione's sudden interest in the Slytherin table, snorted when he saw the new student.

"Ugh, can you believe we actually fell for that good guy act? He's a bloody snake, that's what he is," Ron spat nastily, "A liar, just like the rest of 'em."

Hermione looked back at her friend and reprimanded him, "We don't know that! For all we know, he really is a good guy. We should give him the benefit of the doubt. Besides..."

Harry, finally taking a slight notice of the conversation, said in an offhanded and distracted manner, "His name, that's the weird thing about him. We don't even know if he has any real relations other than claiming to be Malfoy's cousin. Because if he is..."

"Then who are his parents," Hermione finished for him.

The Slytherin dubbed "Golden Trio" fell into a thoughtful silence.

*

Draco felt like hell, he had spent the night wandering, and not even a Pepper-up Potion had really helped him.

He stifled a giant yawn as he listened to Madam Pomfrey prattle on about the safety precautions that came with using _Velox Vigoratus_, an easy and utterly boring spell.

"Velox Vigoratus is commonly used by Healers when quick and easy is necessary. It is a simple spell that offers the injured victim a temporary relief from the wound. It can be used in many situations like evacuation or..."

Draco yawned again.

*

Hermione had chosen to sit behind Malfoy to keep an eye on him. She was curious as to why he had been absent from the Great Hall during breakfast, and now she was even more curious as to why the blond was so obviously exhausted.

Malfoy kept yawning widely and stretching out every now and then.

Hermione was also suspicious as to why Harry had been so perturbed this morning over the disappearance of his rival. The smart Witch was never one to ignore a puzzle, and this was truly a difficult one to decipher.

"Now, I would like you all to pair up into groups of two and work on practising Velox Vigoratus. Please exercise caution for this spell has been known, when the healer applies too much power accidentally, to cause fainting and nausea. Begin."

Hermione gathered her parchment and quill, and, as quickly as she could, seated herself beside Malfoy, claiming him as her partner. Malfoy was giving her a, albeit exhausted, confused look.

"Are you mad?" he asked her, quite frank and to the point.

"No," Hermione responded, "but, as you are one of the top students, my marks will be much higher if I were to be partnered with you."

She still couldn't look him in the eye. Malfoy was looking at her incredulously.

Hermione coughed, trying to dispel the awkwardness, and pulled out her parchment and inkwell. She dipped the tip of her quill in the black ink, and levelled an expectant look at her partner.

"Well?" she asked, "Are you going to begin?"

Malfoy, still eyeing the girl suspiciously, began practising the spell, making a small circular motion with his wand around a cut on a grotesque piece of old pig flesh.

"Velox Vigoratus" he intoned clearly on the third, and final, circular motion.

*

Despite the fact that he tried very hard to concentrate on his spell, Draco could not, for the life of him, get it right.

He twirled his wand over the wounded meat, drawing neat circles. When he spoke the spell, a bright shimmer of blue burst out from his wand with a surprising amount of force, Granger, Draco noted absently, had to cover her eyes to protect herself.

Madame Pomfrey was rushing over to the two with a worried look on her face.

"Are you two quite alright?" she asked, face a bit red with worry, "Mister Malfoy, would you like to rest for a bit? That must have taken quite a lot out of you."

Draco shook his head, he could get this. He just needed to try again; he knew he could do this.

"I'm fine," he said, trying to sound condescending, but coming off just flustered, "I am quite capable of performing a simple spell."

Pomfrey nodded in consent, although she seemed a bit worried. She moved away to examine the work of the other partners.

Granger chose that moment to barge in, ruining his concentration.

"Maybe I should try," she said, sounding even more condescending than Draco himself, "You could take notes and have a break from-"

"I'm fine, Granger," he said, gritting his teeth in forced politeness, "I can handle one tiny spell."

Granger looked at him a bit unbelievingly.

The blond drew the three circles with his wand again.

*

By Malfoy's fifth attempt, Hermione was sure that her eyelashes were going to be singed off by the blast of blue light coming from the too-powerful spell. She had enough of it. Plus, she reckoned, Malfoy looked like he was about to collapse from overexertion.

"That's it," she said, her voice demanding no arguments, "It's my turn. You look like you're about to fall over."

Malfoy didn't even protest, he was so exhausted; he sat down, almost collapsing in the chair, and grabbed the quill, ready to jot down any notes. Hermione turned to her piece of scarred flesh, wrinkling her nose at the magically-induced bleeding. She drew, as Malfoy had, three neat circles with her wand, and carefully intoned:

"Velox Vigoratus"

However, unlike Malfoy, her wand barely made a spark. The meat was still bleeding profusely.

Malfoy giggled a bit maniacally from his seat. Hermione just huffed and tried again.

*

By the end of their first Advanced Healing lesson, neither Draco nor Hermione had managed to do the spell correctly. Draco's had been too strong, Hermione's had lacked power, and neither had been able to get it.

Of course, imagine their embarrassment when they soon learnt that the rest of their classmates had managed, not only to do the spell, but to write out several detailed notes on Velox Vigoratus. Both were quite ashamed, and perhaps a tad resentful.

Honestly, they both held the top notes of their year, yet they couldn't even accomplish one spell.

Both left the classroom comparing notes, trying to figure out what had gone wrong. For the first time, for the sake of knowledge, the two had put aside their differences to work towards a goal. The sorting hat would be proud.

*

When Draco and Hermione arrived in Potions, they promptly separated.

Draco, finally taking notice of the fact that he had been, for the last twenty or more minutes, been talking to one of his self-proclaimed enemies, almost went stark white when he saw who had witnessed them together.

Blaise, seated at their usual bench up front to the left, was glaring at him. Draco gulped as he made his way towards his angry friend.

"Look...I can explain-"Draco tried to say in a hushed tone.

"Explain what? What are you doing talking to that...that Mudblood?"Blaise asked, wrinkling his nose in distaste, "Plus, I've heard news from mother that you still haven't-"

"Blaisie-kins, Dee-Dee! How are my favourite boys doing on this fine day?" Pansy asked, as she burst into their conversation. Draco let out a breath of relief, Pansy was his lifesaver.

Blaise winced at the crude misuse of his name, and quickly reprimanded her. Draco smiled, half from relief, half from the familiarity of the situation.

"How was Healing darling?" Pansy asked, completely ignoring Blaise's grumblings.

Draco sighed, and ran his hand through his blond hair shakily, "It didn't go...as well as planned. Neither I, nor Granger-"

"Pfft! See! Draco spends more time with her than with us Pansy." Blaise's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Pansy swatted him on the nose, "Stop exaggerating Zabini." She turned to Draco, "Where were you at breakfast? You weren't in bed, and you didn't come to the Great Hall. "

The blond tensed, "I was busy Pans, and I'll be there tomorrow."

Pansy went quiet and Blaise watched with a grim look on his face.

Oh Merlin, Draco realised what they must be thinking.

Before either Slytherin could say anything, a disgruntled Snape burst through the door, cursing under his breath about "Dog-brained twits and do-gooder mutts".

* * *

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